Former New Jersey Net Jayson Williams was stunned into submission with a Taser and hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation today after police found him acting violently in a Manhattan hotel room.

The former NBA star, who is facing a retrial for the 2002 shooting death of a limousine driver, was staying at the Embassy Suites Hotel in New York's Financial District when New York City police said they received reports about 4 a.m. of a suicidal, "emotionally disturbed person," and found a "violent" Williams.

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerJayson Williams with defense attorney Billy Martin during a 2007 hearing at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville. Williams today was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation today after police found him acting violently in a Manhattan hotel room.

An emergency services unit responded, and after numerous attempts to get Williams to settle down, authorities used a Taser to subdue him before he was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, police said. No injuries were reported and no weapons were found in the room, police said.

Hotel officials said little. "He was a guest at the hotel and he's checked out," said Dawn Ray, director of public relations for Embassy Suites.

"Last I spoke to Jay, Jay was completely fine," Farzaie said. That was Sunday night. "There was nothing that would make me .¤.¤. call the police or any authority."

Then he received a phone call from another close friend, telling him Williams had been taken to the hospital.

"My first reaction as a friend and somebody who dearly loves him was to get in the car and head over," Farzaie said while in transit.

Defense lawyers Joseph Hayden Jr. and Christopher Adams also rushed to Williams' bedside. They insist he was not arrested.

"He is stable and in satisfactory condition," Hayden said. "He was admitted on a medical emergency ... Out of respect to the privacy of the Williams family, I will not go into any more details."

Williams was a first-round pick in the 1990 NBA draft. He was named an all-star and ranked second in the NBA for the 1997-98 season with 13 rebounds per game and a league-high 443 offensive rebounds. In 2000, an injury forced career-ending surgery.

Williams is awaiting retrial for reckless manslaughter for the shooting death of 55-year-old limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002, at Williams' former estate in Alexandria Township. Authorities say Williams recklessly handled a shotgun that fired, but the defense insists the shooting was an accident. He has remained free on bail.

Williams first went to trial in 2004, and the jury cleared him of the most serious offenses, but found him guilty of trying to cover up the shooting. Reckless manslaughter was the only charge on which the panel could not agree.

A status conference was scheduled for May 8 before Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman in Somerville, according to court records. A gag order prohibits the attorneys from discussing the case.

In February, the Supreme Court ordered the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office to relinquish information regarding a racial slur an investigator used to describe Williams shortly after the athlete was accused of Christofi's death.

Christofi's sister Andrea Adams said she learned about today's incident from a reporter, but it didn't surprise her. "It would be just like him to pull something like this to postpone the case again," she said.

While the criminal matter is pending, Williams is also facing a legal battle on the home front. In February, his wife, Tanya, filed for divorce in Manhattan Supreme Court. She alleged "extraordinary psychological abuse," including accusations that Williams had faked his suicide, falsely claimed he had cancer and bragged about his extramarital affairs, according to her divorce lawyer, Malcolm Taub.

Attorney Christopher Adams has denied all of the allegations. He has insisted that Tanya Williams threatened for months to make up false stories unless her husband submitted to "outrageous demands."

The couple married in 2001 and have two daughters.

Tanya Williams went to the hospital today "to make sure things were okay," Taub said. "She actually physically saw him, but there was no exchange between them."